Ballot-box



4 Sheets--Sheeb 1.

" D. LINDENBORN.

BALLOT BOX.

Patend 081. 18,1881.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(NO Model.)

D. LINDENBORN.

BALLOT BOX.

N0. 248,`880. Patented 001;. 18,1881.

(NO Model y 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

D. LINDENBORN.

BALLOT BOX.

No. 248,330. Patented Oct. 18,1881.

I l/l/J/ (No Mdel.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

D. LINDENBORN.

BALLOT BOX.

No. 248,330. Patented Oct. 18,1881.

sol

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID LIDENBORN, OF SAN FRANCISOO, CALIFORNIA;

BALLOT-BOX.

SPECIFICATION formng part of Letters Patent No. 248,330, dated October 18, 1881.

Application filed July 18, 1881. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID LINDENBORN, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Ballot-Boxes; and I hereby declare the following to he afull, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to certain improvements in ballot-boxes, and my improvements are based upon apatent issued to Villis Crowe and Thomas R. Hester July 13, 1880, and now owned by myself and others by assignment.

It consists in certain details of construction by which the box is more completely protected, and by which a more perfect check is kept upon the tickets or ballots which are deposited within it.

Referring to the accompanying' drawings for a more complete explanation of my invention, Figure 1, Sheet 1, isa view of my box, showing the opening wherein ballots are deposited and the level' for rotating` the depositinp,` rollers With its protecting-case. Fig. 2, Sheet l, is a horizontal section of the box, showing` a plan view of the rollers and the register-operating mechanism. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is an exterior view of the box, showing the register. Figs. 4, 5, and 6, Sheet 3, are views of details of the mechanism. Fig. 7, Sheet 2, is an enlarged view of the balance-wheel and attachment for starting' and stopping the clock. In Fig. 8, which is an end view of one of the feeding-rolls, is shown a way ot' arranging and securinp,` the bar E to said roll; but it is evident that it may bc secured in a variety of known ways. Fig. 9 is an enlarg'ed perspective view of the rolls and the means for connectiug them with the registering'mechanisnn Fig.`l0 is a side View of one of the rolls.

A is my ballot-box, having two compartments, into one of which the ballots a're received, while the other contains a registering and signaling' mechanism to show the number ot' ballots deposited, and a clock mechanism, which is started and stopped at the opening and closing' of the polls, and also a timing mechanism, which being set the box cannot be opened until the hour set for the purpose has arrived.

B is the openingin the top ofthe box, through which the ballots are introduced into the box. Just beneath this opening are two milled or roughened cylinders, O, having` their shafts or axes parallel with the slot and their meeting edges in alinejust beneath the slot B. These cylinders have gear-Wheels D upon their shafts meshing, so that when one is rotated the other must also turn, thns seizing' a ballot when it is introduced and carrying it downward into the box. One of these rollers has a bar, E, projecting from one side, and of sufficientthickness to just Afill the space between the rollers, and this bar is brought to stand between the rollers at their nearest point after each ballot has Vbeen deposited, thns effectually closing the opening until the rollers are again rotated.

When a ballot is introduced in a properlyfolded condition its end enters the space between the rollers until it st-rikes the bar or stop E, which prevents any fnrther progress until the rollers are turned. This is done by means of a leverarm, F, which may be secured directly to the end of one of the rollershafts, in which case it would make a full revolution; but in the present case I have shown it secured to the shaft of a gear-whee1G,which engages a pinion, H, of half its diameter upon one of the roller-shafts, and by this arrangement a half-revolution of the lever produces a full revolution of the rolls.

The lever F has its center secured to the shaft, and upon each end is a small button or knob by which to move it. At the lowest point of its rotation is a spring-catch, I, into which a knob falls when it arrives at that point, and thus locks the lever and prevents the rolls from being turned by any pressure upon them. When this lever'is turned ahalfrevolution the rolls will be turned a complete one, and the ballot which has been inserted as far as the stop will be carried on by the corrugations or milling of the rolls and deposited in the box. This operation takes place at the deposit of each ballot.

The lever-arm F has a case, J, which is made in two halves, so that it may be closed up, and it is secured by a hasp, K, which closes the ballot-opening' also, and fits over a staple'on the case, so as to be secured by any suitable lock.

T'Vhen the box is used one-half :oo

the case J opens downward on its hinge, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to expose the lever sufticiently for use.. I

ln order to operate the registering mechanism and gong only when a ballot is introduced, and not by simply turning the lever withoutintrodueing a ballot, I employ the fol` lowing meehanism:

The registering apparatus L is moved by a shaft, M, which extends across the box, and has a gear-wheel, N, driven by a pinion, O, upon the shaft of one of the rollers when the two are thrown into gear. A spring, P, retains the driving-pinion out of gear so long as there is no ballot passing through the rolls, and any movement of the lever or rolls with out a proper ballot would fail to register.

At each end of the slot through which the hallot passes is a curved or wedge-shaped guide, and the one Q has an end niotion, and is connected with the spring P, so that when a ballot is introduced it forces this guide outward, and acting upon the spring it throws the pinion into gear, so that the register-ingshaft will be driven and record the ballot. The fixed end guide may be adjusted to suit any width of ballot which is to be used, and the cylinder or rolls are also adjustable to or from each other, to suit the thickness of ballots, by means of a screw, R, or equiva-lent device.

In order to identify the ballots, and to give a still more complete check against fraud, the rolls, or one of them, has raised points forming any combination ot' letters, figures, or characters, so that all ballots which are introduced through the opening made for the purpose will he indented with the characters.

The registering device is so arranged that the movement oftheindex-fingersot' thelesser dials will not move until that of the greater dial reachesitspointof hundreds or thousands, when all will move together,as shown inFig.(`.

The clock mechanisni may be stopped or started at any time by the use of a wheel, S, havinga pin, T. This wheel is situated at some distance from the opening in the side of the box, through which the key U is inserted,

end of the key. By turning this key the shat't and wheel Will be turned until the pin T intercepts a spur from the balancewheel W and stops the clock-movement. By turning the key in the opposite direetion the clock-movement is released and will start at once. This clock is started when the polls open, and is stopped when they close.

Having thus described my invention, what I clainl as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A ballot-box provided with a variable ballot-receiving opening, whereby the said opening can be set to receive only a single ballot of a predetermined size, substantially as set forth.

2. The guide Q, having` an end inovemcnt, in combination with the gear-wheel and pinion N O and an intermediate spring and arm, wherehy the passage of each ballot will cause the gears to mesh and move the registering and alarm mechanisni, substantially as set forth.

3. In a ballot-box having the ballot-carrying cylinders C, the adjustable guides Q Q', in combination with the set-screw lt, whereby the opening can be adjusted both to the width and thickness of the ballot.

4. ln a ballot'box having the ballot-carrying eylinders O, the stop E, secured to one of the cylinders, so as to oecupy the space bctween the rollers and prevent the introduction of a ballot until the cylinders are rotated, substantially as described'.

5. In a ballot-box constructed as shown, the clock-movement havingthe balance-wheel W, in combination with theI wheel S, pin T, and key U, whereby the clock can he started or stopped at will.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

DAVID LINDENBORN.

Witnessesz' S. H. NoURsE, FRANK A. BRooKs. 

